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Chris Hull
Professor McLaughlin
Multimedia WR 13300
7 April 2015
A Step Back is a Step Forward: A Rhetorical Analysis of Selma
The American people pride themselves on being a part of a land of the free and a home to
the brave; yet, Americas history, with regard to civil rights, tells a different story. The film
Selma, released on January 9th, 2015, provides a reenactment of the civil rights march led by Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr. from Selma, AL, to Montgomery, AL, that advocated for authorizing
unencumbered voting registration for African-Americans. Ava DuVernay, the director, employs
rhetoric to make an emotional connection with the audience, to respond to current racial
turmoils, to arrange the film in a manner that establishes the film as a historical resource, and to
promote making a difference through shaping the audiences knowledge. Together, these four
elements of rhetoric present in Selma inspire contemporary Americans to become aware of the
importance of the Selma marches and of the ongoing war for racial equality.
According to rhetorical scholar James A. Herrick, rhetoric is the study of how we
organize and employ language effectively (2). In other words, rhetoric is part of who we are as
human beings, which entails that rhetoric is not confined to print but is present in all mediums,
including film. The rhetoric in this film is planned, is adapted to an audience, and is responsive
to a situation (Herrick 7-12). For example, Selma was released before the Selma marches 50year anniversary in such a way that captivates the attention of contemporary viewers, whom are
presumably unaware of the marches cultural and historical importance. This example reveals
how the rhetoric in the film is planned, adapted, and responsive; however, the meaning of the

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film is subject to its viewers. Rhetorical scholar Judith Lancioni notes that film is a text that
positions the viewers as active participants in the making of the films meaning, which, in turn,
leads the film to be acted upon as well as experienced (106). Practically, this invitation enables
viewers to become makers, rather than spectators, of history (Lancioni 115). Through Selma,
DuVernay uses the aforementioned elements of rhetoric to inspire contemporary Americans
about their lack of awareness in order for them to make a cultural and historical difference.
First, Selma connects with the audience right from the get-go by opening with scenes that
elicit contrasting emotional responses from the audience, contemporary Americans. The film
opens with King practicing his speech for his acceptance of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964,
which humanizes the heroic man. This creates a sense of familiarity between King and the
audience, regardless of race, as most of us have practiced a speech before delivering it. Next,
Annie Lee Cooper applies to register to vote, a basic right of the American citizen, regardless of
race, which enhances the sense of familiarity. However, her right is denied because she is black,
causing the audiences familiarity to turn into frustration. In the following scene, Lyndon B.
Johnson, Americas president, vehemently badgers his adviser by asking, Are we not done with
this? The audiences frustration persists, as the most prominent American figure at the time
appears to be irritated by Kings Civil Rights Movement. The contrasting opening scenes are
purposefully planned to provoke an emotional response and to create an interaction between the
audience and the film, where the audience tests the rhetoric presented in order to create meaning.
Not only does the audience test its own awareness of American history but also the audience tests
its own awareness of the current racial turmoils this film responds to.
Selma responds to current racial turmoils through its comparisons between the 1960s and
today. For example, contemporary Americans watched the tear gas used by police officers in

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Ferguson, and they watched a seemingly identical event during the first march of the film.
Therefore, contemporary Americans are able to make a connection between the police brutality
of the 1960s and of today. Saying that America has not been tense throughout this current period
of racial turmoils is like saying, George Wallace was an abolitionist." Through the connection
being made and the tense feeling in the nation, the audience is invited to confront an exigence,
an imperfection marked by urgency (Bitzer 6). In other words, an exigence is a problem that
can be solved through rhetoric. The racism, quarrels, and unrest that ensued from current racial
turmoils were offshoots of the current problem. A country that is unaware of its own history is
liable to retrace its old footsteps. Therefore, Selma responds to current turmoils by comparing
them to the marches of the 1960s so that Americans will hopefully never forsake these marches
importance.
Next, Selma is arranged in a manner that allows the film to be a historical resource for
contemporary Americans. The films rhetoric aims to help its viewers discover facts and truths
that are crucial to decision making (Herrick 20). For starters, there were three marches, not just
one, which is a fact often unknown to many Americans. Accordingly, the first march scene was
arranged in order to display an accurate representation of the police brutality that confronted the
African-American protesters on Bloody Sunday, March 7th, 1965. The arranged violence was
planned in order to achieve the messages greatest effect (Herrick 14). The message was that
Blood Sunday was a historical event, an unbeknownst fact to most of Selmas contemporary
audience. The march was arranged in such a way so that the unaware audience could be partakers
of history, as evidenced by the amplified sounds of violence that make viewers feel like they are
a part of the action. Additionally, the second march is arranged to show that King turned around
his fellow protestors after he noticed that the police are baiting them to walk into a trap. This

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arrangement focuses the audiences attention on the presentation of information rather than on
the information itself (Lancioni 110). The fact that the second march did not commence is
historically important, but the presentation of this fact reveals that Kings marches were
thoroughly planned, a fact more important to the audience. Kings thorough planning that
accounted for every detail contrasts with the unawareness of the audience that could not even
recollect the fact that the second march did not even cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge. Finally,
after receiving the judges approval, King and his protesters are able to complete the third march
on March 17th, 1965. Selma arranges its reenactment of the third march alongside footage from
the historical third march, which enhances the films credibility as a historical resource. These
historical accuracies are often a humbling reminder of what our American textbooks did not
teach us or rather, even more humbling, what we Americans did not decide to learn more about.
In short, the arrangement of the historical reenactments in the film displays that Selma is an
accurate resource that invites contemporary Americans to discover facts of which they are
presumably unaware.
Through the success of MLK and his movement, the film calls its audience to make a
difference, but how? Simply shaping our knowledge of American history can make a difference.
Ignorance and racism have become an integral part of this nation to the point where they have
become part of what is accepted as known by our society (Herrick 21). Why is racism known,
and why is what/whom overcame racism not? The film encourages contemporary Americans to
look back at history in order to learn more about and to exemplify the practices of King and his
movement. For example, the lootings, riots, and violence in the Ferguson area only escalated
tension by dividing a nation into racial sectors, whereas the non-violent protests of King united a
nation. An educated American populace should be envisioned because one would unite a nation

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beyond racial barriers. A populace that can exemplify the successful teachings of King not only
would shape the knowledge of unaware Americans but also would be effective in its protesting
endeavors. This vision inspired by the rhetoric of Selma has the potential to build a community
of people who find common cause with one another (Herrick 22). The film is not simply stating a
community of African-Americans needs to rise up, but rather that Americans need to. This is
evident when Kings character talks about not raising black consciousness but negotiating,
demonstrating, and resisting in order to raise white consciousness. This scene is critical in terms
of comparison because white consciousness, or more broadly American awareness, of Kings
movement and of current racial turmoils is unfortunately lacking.
Of course, a contemporary American skeptic would note that the film is not entirely
historically accurate. For example, such a skeptic would point to the fact that MLK received the
Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 and that the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing, which occurs next
in the film, actually occurred in 1963. This is undoubtedly true. However, Selmas alteration of
history is planned purposefully to evoke emotional responses from the audience. The explosion
that follows Kings acceptance speech of the Nobel Peace Prize purposefully shocks the audience
in order to heighten their emotions. Fittingly, the next scene is Annie Lee Cooper attempting to
register to vote. The injustice evident in the bombing is paired with the injustice of Cooper being
denied one of her basic rights, which, in turn, purposefully elicits a charged response of
frustration from the audience. Even though the films presentation of these historical events may
not be entirely historically accurate, the presentation accurately depicts the cultural backdrop of
the South during the Civil Rights Movement. During that time period, a wonderful event for the
movement, such as King winning the Nobel Peace Prize, often would be followed by a terrible
event, such as the church bombing. Additionally, during this movement, it would not be

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uncommon for a terrible event only to be followed by more terrible events. Therefore, these
historical events were incorrectly sequenced in order to convey to the audience the cultural
backdrop of the South, a culture that remained devoted to its cause despite ongoing suffering.
Next, a skeptic may disagree that a call to awareness is not the argument made by the film and
that contemporary Americans are not the films targeted audience. However, this skeptic may not
have stayed for the credits, where the audience hears in the concluding contemporary hip-hop
song that the war is not over, and Selma is now, for every man, woman, and child. Evidently,
racial equality is an ongoing war, one for every contemporary American to fight in. However, as
heard in the song, to make a difference, it takes the wisdom of the elders and young peoples
energy. Thus, a call is bestowed upon contemporary Americans to gain awareness and wisdom
before fighting the war.
The rhetoric in Selma claims that racial equality is an ongoing war that must be fought.
However, the current problem remains that many Americans are still unaware of this wars
importance and the importance of the Selma marches. Accordingly, by responding to current
racial turmoils, the film provokes inspiration, proves to be a historical resource (although not
entirely chronologically accurate), and invites its audience to make a difference. Contemporary
Americans can rely on the wisdom from King and on their youthful energy to educate unaware
Americans of the war that must be fought by emphasizing the importance of the effective
teachings employed by King in Selma, AL. A man with dream caused the greatest civil rights
movement in American history. What can a nation with a dream cause? Contemporary
Americans must take a step back in order to become aware so that we know how to take a step
forward towards racial equality.

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Works Cited
Bitzer, Lloyd F. "The Rhetorical Situation." Philosophy & Rhetoric. 1st ed. Vol. 1. University
Park, PA: Penn State UP, 1968. 1-14. JSTOR. Web. 24 Sept. 2011.
<http://www.jstor.org/stable/40236733>.
Herrick, James A. "An Overview of Rhetoric." The History and Theory of Rhetoric: An
Introduction. 2nd ed. Boston: Allyn and Beacon, 2001. Print.
Lancioni, Judith. "The Rhetoric of the Frame Revisioning Archival Photographs in The Civil
War." Western Journal of Communication 60.4. (1996): 397-414. Web. 25 Feb.
2015.
Selma. Dir. Ava DuVernay. Paramount Pictures, 2015. Film.